A region, a garden, a frame of mind…

In a Vase on Monday, sort of

As I was admiring and enjoying my blogging friends’ Monday vases this morning, I suddenly realized I could share my Thanksgiving centerpiece. Not technically a vase, not technically blooms…but sort of, kind of, stretching the limits…in the ballpark.

A succulent-packed pumpkin Thanksgiving centerpiece.

This type of project is what you resort to after 15 years of writing for the newspaper and are desperate to produce another weekly column that’s worth reading. It’s the end of autumn, the most difficult time of year for a garden writer; you’ve already done the “leaf mold” thing, the “late bloomers” thing, and the “put the garden to bed” thing. There is nothing new, especially when nearly everything in the garden is dead from drought, unless you pen a tell-all, “Confessions of a Plant Killer.” Your head is empty of any and all clever ideas. Then, you discover an amazing photo on the internet and think, “I can do that!”

So, $287 and 4 hot glue-burned fingers later, you have this! Yes, it’s fabulous. Yes, the column is put to bed for another week. Yes, it’s a blessing in itself that the Thanksgiving centerpiece is done with time to spare.

Now, the only question is this…

What color can I paint this pumpkin on November 25th so the arrangement works for Christmas too?

As you ponder, take time to visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, to see what other vase makers are up to this week.

Beth–Well, true, there might be a slight exaggeration, but the current fad for succulents has driven their price out of sight. It’s crazy! The plants were $3 to $5 each, the pumpkin was $9, the spray glue was $8, the mosses and pot liner a couple of dollars.

Nicely done, Marian. I only write a once monthly column, but the what-to-write dilemma sounds familiar. It can be challenging coming up with ‘fresh and new’ after a few years! Do you ever recycle old columns? I occasionally dig through, edit and refresh. The garden is timeless, after all. 😉

It doesn’t have to be blooms for IAVOM, Marian, or even in a vase – so you are off the hook! It’s such a lovely idea, and even if it wasn’t your own idea you have excecuted it so effectively – well done, and thanks for sharing 🙂

Ha! From the $287 price tag, I’m guessing that you don’t live in a succulent-friendly climate. I made up a succulent-topped pumpkin for Halloween too but luckily I was able to clip the succulents from plants in my own garden. I’m holding onto mine through Thanksgiving but then will pull the succulents off and replant them in my garden – the pumpkin itself will be handed off to the squirrels for demolition!

What a fabulous idea. Succulents are all the rage here at the moment. We once slowly dried the pumpkin overnight in the oven so that it wouldn’t rot- and then I sprayed it silver and filled it with fir cones. Recycling to the extreme. Thanks for the inspiration. https://karengimson.wordpress.com/

That’s gorgeous! Since you used a pot liner you might be able to move it to a holiday pot, or a log with space hollowed out for pot? I’ve seen large flat pieces of birch for sale at Home Depot in the garden area lately 😉